Document Type	Master's Dissertation
Author	Maritz, Louisa
URN	etd-05152012-124401
Document Title	Experiencing psychological ownership : a qualitative study
Degree	MCom
Department	Human Resource Management
Supervisor	Advisor Name Title Mr M Buys Supervisor
Keywords	control investment of self psychological ownership knowledge
Date	2012-04-12
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract In recent years, attention has increasingly been given to the concept of psychological ownership in the work context. Psychological ownership can be seen as the development of feelings of possessiveness towards various targets in the organisation, therefore constituting an attitude towards, for example, emotional and cognitive rudiments. Psychological ownership can be identified in terms of the three routes or categories, namely control, knowledge and investment of self. These perceptions of ownership of something, leading to feelings of psychological ownership, formed the basis of this study. The main purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth description of the experience of ownership within the workplace, especially the routes to psychological ownership, namely control; knowledge and investment of self. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted around three themes, also called the three components of psychological ownership: control; knowledge; and investment of self. The methodology applied was a phenomenological approach. The experiences and perceptions of the middle managers of control and influence over targets or objects as well as the use of targets and objects were described as they pertain to the construct of psychological ownership. In addition knowledge of targets and objects as well as the investment of ideas, energies and time into targets and objects was described in order to arrive at a rich description of the construct for the specific sample. © 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Maritz, L 2011, Experiencing psychological ownership : a qualitative study, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-05152012-124401 / > C12/4/39/gm
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